The Hornets will announce Tuesday that owner George Shinn has reached an agreement with Galliano businessman Gary Chouest and an unidentified investor from Louisiana to purchase a 25 percent minority share of the team, a league source said Monday night.

The total value of the deal is estimated to be $62 million, and final approval, which is expected, must come from the NBA Board of Governors.

Shinn has been seeking investors to help pay debt that was incurred when he bought out former minority partner Ray Wooldridge's 35 percent share for $70 million in 2004.

Chouest owns Edison Chouest Offshore, a barge and vessel company that operates the largest independently owned fleet of seismic and research vessels in the world.

Chouest could not be reached for comment Monday night. The Hornets declined comment, referring only to their advisory about a major announcement to be made today at 6:30 p.m. regarding the search for a local investor.

This fall, the Hornets will play their first full season in New Orleans since the 2004-05 season. They played the past two seasons in Oklahoma City because of damages caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In 2006, Shinn hired SG Americas Securities LLC, a corporate and investment banking group, to launch a nationwide search for minority partners. As part of the search, they requested that all prospective investors sign nondisclosure agreements to not reveal themselves as potential investors until the deal was finalized. Sources said former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk, a New Orleans native who has retired from the NFL, was one of the potential investors considered.

The search was narrowed to a New Orleans group headed by Chouest and a group of Oklahoma investors led by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett.

The New Orleans group emerged as the front-runner when Bennett pulled out after Shinn refused to sell Bennett's group a 51-percent majority share. Shinn also declined an additional offer from Bennett's group in which it wanted a controlling share of the team in the event that Shinn dies.

Bennett's group eventually purchased a 100-percent share of the Seattle SuperSonics and the WNBA's Seattle Storm in July 2006.

At the time, Gary Solomon, chairman and CEO of Crescent City Bank and Trust, was the only member of the New Orleans group to publicly acknowledge being an investor because he did not sign a confidentiality agreement. But in June, Solomon revealed that he was no longer a member, saying he got out four or five months ago.

"I know who he (Chouest) is, but I don't know the guy," Solomon said.

On June 27, a report originating from Baton Rouge said that Shinn would sell a majority share to Chouest, who has been a Hornets season-ticket holder for several seasons. But the Hornets quickly issued a statement denying it: "While negotiations with local investors continue, I can say with absolute certainty that the Shinn family will always retain majority control of the Hornets."

In a phone interview with The Times-Picayune last month, Shinn said he would never sell a majority share of his franchise. Shinn has owned the Hornets since their inception as an expansion franchise in Charlotte, N.C., in 1988-89. His son, Chad, is a Hornets executive. He assists and advises on all key decisions and strategies.

It's uncertain how the ownership structure will evolve between Shinn, Chouest and their unidentified partner in regard to decision making.

When Shinn and Wooldridge were co-owners, they often had disagreements. Before the breakup they rarely spoke to each other, which slowed the growth of the franchise's success in New Orleans during its first two seasons.

The Hornets remain in negotiations with the state regarding a possible extension of their current lease that expires in 2012. Last month, Shinn said if his franchise gets significant fan support, with at least 10,000 season-ticket holders this season, he would be in favor of a long-term lease extension. The Hornets have not given a ticket update since June when they said 5,000 have been sold.

Shinn repeatedly has said that to ensure his team's long-term success in New Orleans, he needed to have a local investor group and a training facility.

John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.